Fext
Origins The Fext is an undead being first mentioned in Slavic mythology. Among its most famous mentions are its exploits in the time of the Thirty Years' War, during the 17th Century, in central Europe; in particular, in Bohemia and western Moravia (today's Czech Republic). Some of the great generals and officers of that time were believed to be fexts, because of so many failed attempts to assassinate them. The name "fext" itself is derived from the German "kugelfest", meaning "bulletproof". However, the process by which one comes to be a fext has nothing to do with firearms or the military. Rather, the common ritual requires that a child is born from its mother's womb in an amniotic cavity; the attached placenta is removed, dried and stored. When the child is old enough, the preserved placenta is held (or sometimes sewn) under the child's left arm. In some cases, the child may immediately die and return as a fext, while in other cases, the child may continue with life as normal, only to return as a fext after natural death. It is also possible to return from death as a fext by use of dark magic, or by making a pact with dark forces (such as in exchange for one's soul). Not to mention, there is always the possibility of a fext being born like a normal child (from two fext parents, or from one fext parent and a parent from another humanoid race). Appearance The appearance of the fext is, for all intents and purposes, its appearance in life, beautified. One would be extremely hard-pressed to find an ugly or unattractive fext. Their skin may be any color possible for their race (if their parents are a race other than human), but it will almost always be clear, free of spots, blemishes, wrinkles or scars (and perhaps paler). Their eyes may be any color, but will always be bright and vivid, or deep and contemplative. Their hair may be any length, texture or color, but will always be kink-free. They will almost always seem at the peak of health, beauty and vitality. For this reason, when they are discovered as being undead, they are often mistaken, at first, for being vampires. However, a fext maintaining its beauty is not guaranteed. If their origins are brought about by the practice of dark magic, the results can be a bit...sketchy. Though, typically, employing dark forces is successful to become a fext, there are cases in which consulting with a malevolent entity will result in being tricked. The resulting fext may lose his soul in the deal, and still end up vulnerable to age, or the decomposition of death. These are often mistaken, as time wears on, for being zombies. Behavior A born fext has behavior typical of a human (or behavior typical of whatever other humanoid race they are born to). Those turned into fexts by supernatural means will retain their intellect (despite being undead) and have whatever personality they had in life, if they are not somewhat emboldened by their new-found, physically-enhanced, undead state. Abilities The abilities of a fext are primarily physical in nature. They possess superhuman strength, durability (endurance), stamina, reflexes, agility, accuracy and/or dexterity. In addition, they always possess some sort of recuperative ability. This may manifest as either rapid regeneration or (more commonly) invulnerability, which often allows them to live an indefinitely-prolonged life. Furthermore, they are undead, which allows them to withstand psionics, radiation, poison, disease, sonic attacks, and bodily needs (breathing, eating, sleeping, etc). Few means besides glass bullets, or wooden stakes that are used to tie young trees, may be used to bypass their recuperative powers, and permanently kill a fext. Though, strangely, a fext's body often does not decay after death; instead, it often only slightly shrivels up. What's more, the corpse often retains rudimentary motion, allowing it to twitch and writhe and grab and move in the grave. Though the dead body has no sentience at this point (cannot sense, cannot think, has no metabolism, etc), as one can imagine, this is a trait most useful in scaring off potential grave robbers. There are even cases in which fexts have displayed some talent for magic. Though, this capability is most common in those who make deals with malevolent supernatural entities. Weaknesses Regular bullets are not effective against a Fext; in fact, the Fext cannot be harmed or killed by most conventional forms of weaponry, attack or damage. The only way to destroy a Fext is with use of glass bullets (it is likely that any attack with glass will do) or a wooden stake, such as that which would be used to tie down a young tree. Category:Mythical Being Category:European Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Slavic Mythology, Legend and Folklore Category:Humanoid Category:Monstrous Humanoid Category:Undead Category:F Category:Medieval European Mythology, Legend and Folklore